Recruitment - Articles

Just when we were thinking that the EU was a complete waste of money, news reached PharmiWeb Towers this week about a ground breaking plan concocted by bureaucrats in Greece to standardise all cvs/res
Just when we were thinking that the EU was a complete waste of money, news reached PharmiWeb Towers this week about a ground breaking plan concocted by bureaucrats in Greece to standardise all cvs/resumes/Zusammenfassung across the continent. The plan, which emanates from CEDEFOP, www.cedfop.gr, The European centre for the Development of Vocational Training, aims to create an environment where employers in all member states can easily compare experience and training of prospective employees regardless of their country of origin in order to create a genuinely level playing field of work through…

You’ve assessed your strengths and weaknesses, set your career and life goals and prepared your CV to ensure you market yourself in the best possible way.
So, you’ve decided it’s time to move on and you are looking for a new role in the pharmaceutical industry. You’ve assessed your strengths and weaknesses, set your career and life goals and prepared your CV to ensure you market yourself in the best possible way. You may feel exhausted after all that but in fact your job search has only just begun - now you need to find out what vacancies are out there! 1. Advertisements The traditional way of searching for a suitable opening is to scour the general press and trade literature for job advertisements. Commercial roles in pharmaceutical sales and marketing are most often advertised in…

The NORAS survey is as comprehensive an attempt to assess the state of online recruitment in the UK as we currently have but still leaves much to be desired, the raw stats demonstrate that many sites
The recent publication of NORAS 2002, the first National Online Recruitment Audience Survey is a positive step forward for both recruiters and candidates alike. The survey, run by online recruitment specialist Enhance Media with the aid of several of the major generic job boards, several of the sector specific job boards and the support of ABC Electronic offers an excellent starting point from which those interested in e-cruitment can begin and, despite the self-imposed non-participation of Monster.co.uk, the result is an accurate picture of the state of online recruitment in the UK in mid-200…

Our aim is to reduce the cost per hire and time to fill positions whilst continuing to source high quality candidates. At GSK, e-Recruitment is more than posting adverts on the Internet. It is about l
After internal recruitment methods have been exhausted, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) uses the Internet to recruit its people before using more traditional methods. Our aim is to reduce the cost per hire and time to fill positions whilst continuing to source high quality candidates. At GSK, e-Recruitment is more than posting adverts on the Internet. It is about leveraging a wide range of web-based technology. The e-Recruitment team source candidates, promote the GSK on-line brand, develop on-line recruitment strategies, research and evaluate web information for all of the UK-based businesses. Thes…

Fifteen years ago, nearly all CRAs worked as permanent employees of pharmaceutical companies, juggling monitoring and project co-ordination responsibilities from an office base in the South East of En
If you have been a clinical research professional for sometime, you could be forgiven for not recognising the industry today as the same as that which first employed you. Fifteen years ago, nearly all CRAs worked as permanent employees of pharmaceutical companies, juggling monitoring and project co-ordination responsibilities from an office base in the South East of England. But changes in the pharmaceutical marketplace have resulted in radical changes to the way in which pharmaceutical companies resource their clinical development programmes – CRAs monitor sites and Project Managers co-ord…

We have already considered in previous articles the role of the nurse adviser and how nurses cope with the transition from NHS into a commercial environment. This month we look at how nurse advisers a
We have already considered in previous articles the role of the nurse adviser and how nurses cope with the transition from NHS into a commercial environment. This month we look at how nurse advisers and medical representatives can get the best out of their working relationship, without compromising ethical standards. The Medical Representative’s Perspective Nurse adviser teams are still a fairly new concept. Many representatives still have little or no direct experience of working for a company that sponsors such a team. This means that there is often a lack of understanding of how these tea…

As R&D costs rise steadily and restrictions on profit squeeze tighter, pharma companies must maintain large commercial and development portfolios in order to remain competitive.
It is a palpable fact that you cannot work in the pharmaceutical industry of the 21st century without coming across a merger or acquisition at some time in your career. As R&D costs rise steadily and restrictions on profit squeeze tighter, pharma companies must maintain large commercial and development portfolios in order to remain competitive. The easiest way to increase your product line is, of course, to buy or in some way amalgamate with another company with an established and complementary portfolio itself. Since the 1980’s pharmaceutical companies have been constantly merging with and acquiring othe…

The role of Clinical Research Associate (CRA) is a vital one in the pharmaceutical industry and as such commands both significant responsibility and impressive remuneration. A Clinical Research Associ
The role of Clinical Research Associate (CRA) is a vital one in the pharmaceutical industry and as such commands both significant responsibility and impressive remuneration. A Clinical Research Associate’s principle role is in monitoring the progress of a Clinical Trial either from an overall standpoint, or focused on an individual area of the trial such as initiation, ensuring the scientific integrity of the data collected or monitoring the well-being of the trial patients. A well-trained and knowledgeable CRA plays a vital role in helping to reduce the time between drug discovery and marketi…

In this two part series we look at 35 typical interview questions taken from countless interviews throughout the UK and North America over the last ten years along with 5 typical questions targetted s
An interview is not like an exam and shouldn’t be treated like one, it is an organic process, the pattern of which changes with every question asked or answered and it is designed to let all the participants establish who is the right person for a specific role within an organisation. You should always remember that the interview process is as much about you deciding whether you want to work for a company as it is about the interviewer(s) deciding whether you are right for a particular role. In this first of a two part series we look at 35 typical interview questions taken from countless int…

There has always been a steady flow of nurses who have been tempted away from the NHS to become medical representatives. In the last 5-10years, however, the number of nurses joining our industry has
There has always been a steady flow of nurses who have been tempted away from the NHS to become medical representatives. In the last 5-10years, however, the number of nurses joining our industry has dramatically increased due to the rise of the role of Nurse Adviser. Last month’s article attempted to shed some light on these roles. This month we take the nurse’s view to try and understand their motivations for joining the industry and to get an insight into how they cope with the transition into a commercial environment. Why leave the NHS? If you took a straw poll of nurses in the NHS you wo…

Increasingly, pharmaceutical companies are moving towards flexible human resource management by employing core permanent staff and utilising contract associates to meet short to medium term resourcing
Answers for both those who have vacancies to fill and those who are actively looking for a new position It is well recognised that a flexible approach to staffing is needed in order to meet the peaks and troughs of activity during the drug development process. Increasingly, pharmaceutical companies are moving towards flexible human resource management by employing core permanent staff and utilising contract associates to meet short to medium term resourcing needs. Such contract personnel are available through three main categories of organisation : CRO’s CRO’s may offer their own permanen…

Nurse Adviser teams have seen a rapid growth over the last 5 years, yet they remain an area of mystery for many. This article, the first of a series of 3, aims to start to shed some light on the role
Nurse Adviser teams have seen a rapid growth over the last 5 years, yet they remain an area of mystery for many. This article, the first of a series of 3, aims to start to shed some light on the role of Nurse Adviser within the pharmaceutical industry. The Growth of Nurse Advisers Nurse Adviser (or Advisor), Nurse Facilitator and Nurse Specialist are just some of the titles applied to Nurses working on a wide variety of programmes sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. There are great variances in their day to day roles, therapeutic specialities and programme objectives but the one commonali…

A role as a medical sales rep is difficult to land, but with determination, persistence and a little advice from us you too could soon be warming a seat in a GPs waiting room, craving that elusive thr
One of the most common queries received at PharmiWeb Towers is from career changers or recent graduates looking to get into the field of medical sales. The attraction is understandable, repping offers excellent salaries and the potential for even better bonuses, company cars are standard and of high quality, training is excellent and many ethical pharmaceutical manufacturers are the very definition of blue-chip companies. A role as a medical sales rep is difficult to land, but with determination, persistence and a little advice from us you too could soon be warming a seat in a GPs waiting room…

Whatever the government’s eventual solution it needs to be creative, quick and sustainable as throwing money at the problem might win elections but won’t address fundamental flaws in the NHS.
Labour swept back to power in May on a platform of reform for public services, and specifically the National Health Service. Cynics might suggest that the government fought an effective campaign in an area where the population could still be feasibly encouraged to lay blame on eighteen years of Tory rule, but the nation’s desire for an efficient, reliable health service was amply demonstrated by the landslide Labour enjoyed. Mr Blair has since pledged to bring an extra 20,000 nurses into the NHS by 2005, pin-pointing the solving of the crisis in nurse recruitment as a fundamental pre-cursor to a reliab…

One of the most common truisms trotted out by pub bores is that 90% of communication is non-verbal, but the fact that the majority of these people can’t find regular sexual partners demonstrates that,
One of the most common truisms trotted out by pub bores is that 90% of communication is non-verbal, but the fact that the majority of these people can’t find regular sexual partners demonstrates that, though we may all know that body language is important, very few of us are any good at it. No situation is more vital to get your body language right than the interview. Interviews are often pivotal points in life and yet up until shaking hands with the interviewer for the first time you are nothing to them but two sheets of professionally put together paper. So how do you wield that extra 90%…

A successful pharmacist requires a combination of skills unique to the role. A high level of scientific ability is a pre-cursor to any role, as mentioned above, in addition to proficiency in mathemati
A career as a pharmacist is a highly responsible one that requires a considerable amount of application and learning. All Pharmacists in the UK have degrees in Pharmacy recognised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. For those considering a career in research, a postgraduate qualification will be expected in addition to a degree. The majority of Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and such registration can only be achieved after a year of supervised work under a Society recognised Pharmacist. A successful pharmacist requires a combination of skills unique to the ro…

The pharma industry mega-merger is a gargantuan task that can make your working situation difficult or even untenable but if you approach the process objectively it can be turned to your advantage. He
The demands of investors and the paucity of promising drugs in the industry has led to a wave of big mergers and acquisitions in the last few years. As a result the industry landscape is full of monolithic companies with worldwide headcounts approaching those of cities. But despite all this action the largest pharmaceutical company in the world still only has a 7% market share and several of the major players still haven’t been involved in any consolidations, both Roche and MSD spring to mind. It’s therefore logical to assume that further consolidation will occur in the sector, consolidation t…

Everyone hates interviews, but the more you attend, the better your performance becomes. Initially, it's a good idea to go to interviews even if you're not sure about the job. The experience will se
Everyone hates interviews, but the more you attend, the better your performance becomes. Initially, it's a good idea to go to interviews even if you're not sure about the job. The experience will serve you well when you go for the one you really do want. Before you go - do some research. Find out what you can about the company and which drugs you are likely to be selling. If you can find someone who works for them then brilliant. If not there's usually a lot of information to be found on their website. It is often a requirement that trainee medical reps have spent at least one day shadow…

There are many qualities often listed as pre-requisites for success in the field of pharmaceutical sales - the following are just some - maybe those seen as most important:
There are many qualities often listed as pre-requisites for success in the field of pharmaceutical sales - the following are just some - maybe those seen as most important: Organisational ability - You will have to manage your time and your territory to obtain the best results possible. Can do, will do - Determination to succeed, despite the knockbacks. Self-motivation skills - This is a must! There is no one to make sure you get out of bed and into the office on time. Communication skills - Ability to talk to people on all levels without either being dumbstruck or patronising. Hard working - Willingness to go that ex…

A new UK scheme to introduce qualifications for clinical research staff will give Britain extra credibility in an increasingly competitive market for clinical trials research into new medicines.
A new UK scheme to introduce qualifications for clinical research staff will give Britain extra credibility in an increasingly competitive market for clinical trials research into new medicines. The new standards and qualifications will emerge from co-operation between two leading organisations, the Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), it was announced today. The standards would give British clinical research personnel additional standing and emphasise Britain’s status as a centre for quality research, because their ability to cond…